September 23, 2008 on Leech Lake

A view of Second Duck Point from the water.

The temperature today was 70 degrees, the wind was swirling all day long -- 5-15 mph out of the SE then 10 mph out of the SW before settling at 10 mph out of the west. The water temperature was 65 degrees.

Rick and I took a slightly different approach to our fishing today. We started at 4:00 p.m. and did some drifting for panfish, and then around 7:45 p.m., we switched to trolling for walleye.

While drifting, we caught several perch, bluegill and rock bass, but nothing really big. When we started trolling, in 10 feet of water, we were able to catch some walleye.

Trolling Minnow Raps from south of Second Duck Point to Malay's cabin, Rick caught 2 northern pike, a few rock bass and on 20" walleye. I had better luck and landed walleyes of 18", three of 20", a 21 1/2" and a of 23". All fish were released unharmed back into Leech Lake. We returned to shore at 9:00 p.m.

September 17, 2008 on Leech Lake

The temperature was 68 degrees today, the water temperature was 63 degrees, but for some reason I didn't record the wind speed/direction.

At 2:30 p.m., Rick and I took a break from painting the cabin and went fishing. I had purchased some spottail shiners the other day, so we used those on the end of shiner jigs. We also used 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in smelt color.

We caught a numerous perch (including a few nice jumbos), crappie, bluegill and rock bass. We kept one of the big jumbo perch to go along with the walleye from last night.

Rick and I made it back to shore by 5:15 p.m., where we painted the cabin for another 2 hours.

Kathleen's friend Beth arrived for a few day visit. After we all cleaned up from painting, we had dinner, and then sat around a roaring fire in the fire pit at the cabin.

Another fantastic day at Leech Lake.

September 12, 2008 on Leech Lake

Me with the two 17 1/2 walleyes I caught while trolling the night before.


Rick with one of the many nice sized crappie we caught near the Birches; Second Duck Point is visible on the far right.

The temperature today was a very pleasant 70 degrees, the water temperature warmed to 66 degrees, and the winds were calm.

Rick and I started fishing at 2:00 p.m. using shiners and shiner jigs over Snake Pit Flats to the north and east of Goose Island. Unfortunately, we caught nothing. From there we fired up the 150 hp Mercury Verado and made our way to Big Hardwood Point. The there was also slow, but I did hook into a gigantic walleye -- I'm estimating at least 26-28" and roughly 8-9 lbs. I got the fish to the side of the boat, but before Rick could net the fish, it turned and cut clean throught the 6lb. test Fireline Crystal I was using. Big fish, but no pictures.

Our third stop was the Birches. There we switched tactics and again fished for panfish. Above is a picture of Rick holding one of the dozens of crappie we caught. We also boated a good number of perch and bluegill. By 5:45 p.m., we were back on shore.

Back at the cabin, I cleaned the two 17 1/2" walleyes from yesterday's excurtion, as well as the one jumbo perch I kept from yesterday afternoon's trip on Leech Lake. Tonight we treated Rick to a wonderful fish fry, complete with French fries, Cole slaw and warm dinner rolls. There is nothing tastier than a Leech Lake fish fry.

September 3, 2008 on Leech Lake

Today was 70 degrees, mostly sunny, with just enough wind to push the boat along at 0.5 mph. A perfect day for a Leech Lake panfishing expedition.

Along with Joe and my mother, we hit the water at 2:30 p.m. The water temperature matched the air temp at 70 degrees. The air and water are starting to cool. Autumn is just around the corner.

We all used similar rigs -- 1/16- or 1/8-oz. Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jigs tipped with 3" Gulp minnows in smelt color. We caught dozens of perch, crappie and bluegills, but kept only 4 jumbo perch. Together with the perch I caught a couple of days ago, these four are inching us closer to having enough fresh fish for a fish fry.

My mother was a trooper and stayed out on the water for 3 hours, but at 5:30 p.m. we headed to shore. Primarily because my father was beginning to worry that we had been out on the lake long enough! We'll try again tomorrow.


Three generations of Jursa's -- Ron, Joe and me (Steve) on the lake-front deck of our Leech Lake house.

August 30, 2008 on Leech Lake

Joe and I went fishing today from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. I had told Joe about the great panfish bite I was experiencing and he finally decided to go with me to see for himself.

The temperature was 85+ degrees and the wind out of the south was 8-12 mph went we left the boat lift. We headed to the front of Norm's cabin in 10 feet of water, with a water temperature of 72 degrees, lined up the boat along the weed line, and then let the wind push us north toward the Birches.

We were both using Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jigs with silver Colorado blade spinners tipped with Gulp 3" minnows in smelt color. Together we caught numerous perch, bluegills, crappie and a few rock bass. A another good day of panfishing on Leech Lake.

August 29, 2008 on Leech Lake

My parents arrived today for a 4- or 5-day visit, but before they did, I managed to sneak out onto Leech Lake for a little late-afternoon fishing.

From 4:20 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. I used the 8-15 mph NW wind to drift from Schiebe's cabin to our cabin in 8-10 feet of water. The air temperature was 75 degrees. I used a 1/16 oz. orange Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig with a silver blade spinner tipped with 3" Gulp minnows in smelt color.

I caught a few perch, a couple of bluegills, a handful of rock bass and a couple of crappie, one of which tipped the scales at about 1 1/2 pounds, a real slab if there ever was one. All fish were released.

August 25, 2008 on Leech Lake

After four days of being stuck on shore, I was finally back on Leech Lake fishing today!

The sky was sunny, the temperature was 72 degrees, the winds were 5-12 mph out of the SSW. I hit the water at 1:30 p.m. to do some drifting for panfish -- I was curious if the great panfish bite from a week ago was still on.

I drifted from our house north to the Birches in 8-10 feet of water along the weed line. I used a 1/16 oz. firetiger colored Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with Gulp 2 1/2" minnows. For a little added flash, I attached a #3 silver Colorado blade spinner to the jig.

By 4:45 p.m., I had caught numerous rock bass, bluegills, perch and crappie, but none of them the size of the fish I was catching a week ago. Nonetheless, it was a great day of fishing on Leech Lake.

August 20, 2008 on Leech Lake

With Kathleen's mother and sister visiting us (me, Kathleen and Joe), if we were going to have a fish fry I needed to catch a few more fish. So I hit the water's of Leech Lake today at 2:00 p.m. with the goal of catching several jumbo perch or a couple of eater-sized walleyes.

The weather today was almost identical to yesterday -- a temperature of 85 degrees, winds varying from calm to 8-10 mph out of the NW, mostly sunny skies and a water temperature of 77 degrees.

With the weather identical to yesterday, and since yesterday was one of the best days I've had on Leech Lake fishing for panfish, I decided to employ the same tactics in the same location. And once again it paid off.

I started fishing in 12" of water in front of Schiebe's cabin and drifted SE along the weed line toward our cabin. I used the same 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with a variety of 2" lime-green Gulp grubs, 2 1/2" Gulp minnows in smelt or shiner color, and 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in an emerald shiner color.

I caught dozens upon dozens of perch, including numerous jumbos, lots of pound-plus sized crappies and a few big bluegill. I kept only what I needed for a nice dinner for five -- 3 jumbo perch. Along with the two jumbos and the walleye from yesterday, I had just enough for a fish fry.

At 4:45 p.m., with my mission accomplished, I headed for shore. One small note: upon reviewing the size of the 5 perch in my basket, I decided to let one of them go. The four jumbo perch and 16 1/2" walleye would be more than enough food for the five of us. No sense wasting fish.

Here's an example of the jumbo perch I was catching.

August 19, 2008 on Leech Lake

I spent nearly five hours fishing today, although I love being on Leech Lake so much, that the time went so quickly that if you had asked me, I probably would have guessed I was fishing for no more than an hour and a half.

I left the cabin at 12:30 p.m. under mostly sunny skies, variable winds from near calm to 8-10 mph out of the NW, a temperature of 85 degrees or warmer and a water temperature of 77 degrees.

I again started my fishing in 12 feet of water in front of Schiebe's cabin and drifted SE toward our cabin along the weed line, a distance of roughly 3/4 of a mile.

Like yesterday, I used the 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Gum-Ball jig, tipped with either lime-green 2" Gulp grubs, 2 1/2" Gulp minnows in smelt or shiner color, or 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in the emerald shiner color.

I caught one nice eater-sized walleye (about 16 1/2 inches), more perch than I can count, upwards of 75, including several large jumbos, lots of bluegill, and a number of pound-plus slab crappies. The panfish bite has been outstanding for the past 7-10 days, but today was by far the best action of the lot. I decided to keep the walleye and two of the jumbo perch for a later fish fry.

I finally headed home at 5:00 p.m., even though I would have sworn it couldn't have been later than 2:30 p.m. Another fantastic day of fishing on Leech Lake.

Upon my arrival at the cabin, I found that Kathleen's mother and Kathleen's sister, Margaret, had arrived. I knew they were coming for visit, but figured they wouldn't arrive until later that evening. It was nice to see both of them again, and I promised them a fish dinner with the walleye and perch I caught today. Although I thought to myself that we'll need a few more jumbo perch or a nice walleye to ensure we have enough fish for all of us (I guess I'll have to fishing again tomorrow). Everyone loves a fresh fish fry when visiting Leech Lake.

August 18, 2008 on Leech Lake

Under partly cloudy skies, a temperature of 82 degrees and winds out of the NW at 8-17 mph, I again continued my week long hunt for trophy panfish on Leech Lake. I left the boat lift at 3:00 p.m. and had to battle some pretty big waves and white caps as a result of the stiff wind. The water temperature, I noted, had increased to 77 degrees due to the 80+ degree temps we've had for the past several days.

My fishing location today was in 8-11 feet of water from in front of Schiebe's cabin drifting SE toward our cabin along the weed line.

Despite the wind, I decided to try a smaller jig than I've used for the past several days. Today I tied on a 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Gum-Ball jig, and tipped it with either lime-green 2" Gulp grubs or 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in smelt color. I caught numerous perch, including some nice jumbos, a number of beautiful slab black crappie and a few nice bluegills.

Around 5:00 p.m. I headed back to shore. On my way I noticed a boat with an Illinois license and saw they had a bag full of fish off the back. Typical FIB meat hunters.

August 14, 2008 on Leech Lake

For the past several days the perch, crappie and bluegill bite has been fantastic. So again today I decided to work the weed line between our cabin and the Birches in 8-12 feet of water.

The temperature today was near 80 degrees, the skies were clear, the wind, however, had shifted, and was now blowing from the SE at 8-12 mph, a complete 180 degrees from where it was blowing yesterday. The water temperature had dropped a half a degree to 74 degrees.

I started fishing right at noon, and for the next 3 1/2 hours I let the warm summer breeze gently drift my boat from our cabin all the way to the Birches. I used the same set up that I have for the past few days, which included my Shimano Saros 1000F spinning reel, St. Croix Premier 5'6" fast action rod, and 6lb. Fireline Crystal line. On the terminal end of the set up, I had a 1/8 oz. Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with either a 2" orange Gulp grub or 3" Gulp silver pearl minnow.

This set up led to the same results I'd had for the past several days -- numerous perch, including some jumbos, big slab crappies and plenty of bluegill, including some real bulls. With all of the great summertime panfishing going on, I've almost forgot about the walleyes that roam Leech Lake. Almost, but not quite.